


a midwinter feast by dr. julian devorak

by bestgirlfaust (hhmihailov)



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Bad Cooking, Gen, Gift Exchange, Winter Solstice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-01-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:00:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22217437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hhmihailov/pseuds/bestgirlfaust
Summary: it's midwinter! the palace pals are taking a break for the holidays, and julian takes it upon himself to cook a winter meal for nadia and asra. but, uh, did julian forget he's bad at cooking?
Kudos: 12





	a midwinter feast by dr. julian devorak

**Author's Note:**

> discord gift exchange piece for mosaic-marquise on tumblr!

It’s not snowing outside, but the warmth of the palace is a nice contrast to the winter chill outside. The winter holidays are coming fast, only a couple days away. The palace has been bustling with preparations for the Midwinter festivities, despite the looming plague and the building death tolls over at the Lazaret, but Lucio’s insistence for it won out in the end. Although the timing leaves much to be desired, the countess and her two closest friends have been enjoying the relaxation period. 

Julian, always looking for a way to keep himself busy, took it upon himself to cook Asra and Nadia a traditional Nevivon winter meal, specifically that of a family recipe. That’s how Asra and Nadia found themselves sat huddled together beneath a mountain of blankets, two steaming mugs of magic-warmed tea in front of them. They’ve been sitting like this for quite some time at this point, content to listen to the questionable and concerning sounds coming from the kitchen—most of which are Julian’s colorful shouts and the occasional smash of something falling onto the floor.

“I may have to send my chef out to commission a new set of dinnerware,” Nadia murmurs into Asra’s ear at one point, and Asra bites his lip to prevent himself from laughing too loud. He turns his face to look at her, heads tilted close together. Nadia’s eyes are bright and well-rested for the first time in weeks, and for that Asra is thankful.

“Are you sure he should be in there by himself?”

“Ah… perhaps not, though, I am quite interested in seeing what he surprises us with this time.”

By the time Julian is finished, Asra is dozing on Nadia’s shoulder. When he clambers into the dining room, he is visibly disheveled. There is a hole in one of Julian’s sleeves and batter streaked down his pant leg. Despite his outward appearance, he beams, holding a covered tray in his hand.

“Oh, my,” Nadia says, pressing her palm to her chest as she takes in the doctor's state. Julian doesn't seem to mind, instead wagging his eyebrows at her and giving her a wide grin, sweeping out his free arm into a grand gesture.

“My lady, my, uh… Asra?” He blinks at the sleeping magician, cheeks coloring. “How, hrm. I was in there for a while, was I?”

“No matter,” the countess responds easily, jostling Asra. “I am very excited for your presentation and more than willing to wait. Asra,” she says as he wakes up, purple eyes blinking slowly, “it seems like he’s ready for us.”

Asra yawns, white hair sticking every-which-way as he sits up properly. He's still tightly cocooned beneath the mountain of blankets. He reaches for his cup of tea to warm it up again, and then takes a long sip. "Alright, Ilya. Show us what we've been waiting for all this time."

“Patience, my friend. What I have here is a feast you will never forget.” With that, he begins to introduce the meal, detailing every holiday ever celebrated by him and his family in Nevivon. His storytelling takes him through the next handful of minutes. Asra, only half-listening, begins to nod off again. Nadia shoves her elbow into his side, and he jerks awake. “Now, without any further delay, please enjoy this holiday meal.” Julian removes the tray lid with a flourish. On the tray are two plates decorated with beautifully-laid foods, topped with colorful garnishes and other assortments. The spread looks delicious, and Julian places one plate in front of each of them, then steps back.

“This looks so lovely,” Nadia hums, fingers brushing the delicate outer edge of the plate before her. “I’m almost loathe to eat it and risk destroying such beautiful handiwork.”

“O—oh, ah—hah… thank you,” Julian responds, cheeks reddening.

Then they begin to eat. The countess lifts a small bite to her lips, chewing thoughtfully. Asra follows in kind. As soon as the food hits their taste buds, Nadia’s eyes widen. She lifts her napkin up to her lips and, as all good princesses are wont to do, spits the food into it before taking a very long drink of water. Asra is much less dignified with his reaction, choking loudly on the taste, doubling over. Nadia pats him on the back until he settles.

“Erm… what’s with those reactions? Is it not to your liking?” The expression on Julian’s face is so earnest that immediately both Nadia and Asra share a look. The magician, eyes watering from his coughing fit earlier, covers his mouth with his hand so Julian doesn’t see the disgust twisted into it as he struggles to swallow. 

“Perhaps… some more practice is warranted, Doctor,” Nadia says, her voice carefully pleasant. When Julian turns his attention to her, Asra quickly waves his hand over his plate to cast an illusion spell, one that will make Julian think Asra actually ate the whole thing. “However, this is a promising start. Your… enthusiasm in the kitchen will take you far.”

Julian stares at them, eyebrows knit together, frowning. His eyes linger on Asra, then on Asra's seemingly-empty plate. "Ah, hrmm... I wonder if I didn't add enough salt. Or it could be..." He scrubs his free hand through his red curls, continuing to hypothesize all the reasons why his kitchen adventure failed. Asra sighs, wiping his eyes with his sleeve, and then takes a drink of water from Nadia's cup.

“Ilya,” Asra says finally, apparently coming to a decision. He pushes Nadia's plate towards him. “I think you should try it.” There’s a twinkle in his eye. Nadia watches him with a knowing smile. Julian’s gaze darts between both of them.

“Well,” Julian says, eyeing the plate before him. “Okay. Bottoms up.” He digs his fork into the dish and lifts a generous bite to his lips. Asra and Nadia both lean forward together, waiting. Julian grimaces, clearly trying to fight past the taste and texture. His body, however, has other ideas, and he begins to gag, hands slapping against his knees to support himself. When he does, the food falls unceremoniously out of his mouth and onto the floor. As soon as his mouth is empty again, he takes lungfuls of air in quick succession, each louder than the one before it. 

Nadia presses her lips together, clearly trying not to laugh. Asra, however, unable to hold it in any longer, bursts out into full-bodied giggles, shoulders shaking. He presses the heel of his palm to his eyes, snorting as the giggles build. “Oh,” he manages, “it’s so bad. That’s the worst thing I’ve ever eaten in my entire life. I don’t know what you did, but you almost poisoned us.”

“Oh, my god,” Julian rasps, still panting, and wipes his hand over his mouth. “What the hell… I used Mazelinka’s recipe.”

“If you’d like,” Nadia says, “I could arrange for our chef here at the palace to give you lessons, hopefully with less broken dishes in our wake.” She raises an eyebrow at him, teasing.

"The creative process requires some level of sacrifice. I wish it weren't such a terrible burden." Despite his words, Julian has the good sense to look properly chastised.

“You know,” Asra pipes in, a mischievous quirk to his lips, “I think Lucio would love to get some of this.”


End file.
